Keep moving, Keep Growing: Part 1

There’s an urban myth that if sharks stopped swimming they’d die by drowning.

I didn’t know if that was actually true, but it’s often repeated.

Having looked into it, there *is* some truth to it. Some sharks do need a constant flow of oxygen rich water over their gills and that only occurs when they’re swimming.

So what does this have to do with you?

More specifically, what does it have to do with internet marketing?

Let me first describe what an average would-be marketer might believe:

There are money making secrets known only to a few

There is a shiny button out there somewhere that magically makes money

It’s possible to make lots of money without doing any work at all

If you buy the right product, you’re set for life

THIS product, THIS time, will make all the difference

Once you learn the secret method to make money you never have to learn anything new

Can I level with you? Over the years, the harder I’ve worked the more money I’ve made. Building a real business takes time and effort. It’s not a popular message, but it’s a true one. You know it’s true.

Many years ago I made a lot of money doing something called “blog and ping”. But when it stopped working my revenue fell.

Here’s where the difference between success and failure comes in. When a technique that had been working stopped working, I put time and effort into finding why.

Perhaps I was doing it wrong. Maybe I needed to tweak what I was doing. Or was the free ride over?

The only way I could know was by putting in the effort to find out. Real effort – I had to put in work to get the answers!

Once I realized the technique no longer worked I had to put in even more effort to find an alternative.

Based on what we see and hear from our subscribers we know that most of you don’t have the time, energy or – frankly – desire to do that kind of huge amount of testing and learning.

You just want an answer “that works” and that is perfectly understandable.

Most of you don’t have the luxury of a team to help you. Most of you have some kind of paid employment you have to work at.

Let’s put this another way, more specifically.

Whatever you are doing that works well today, tomorrow you may have to do something a little different. Nothing remains static in this world.

That’s good news – you get new opportunities in the future to make bank, right?

But it’s bad news for anyone who doesn’t have time to keep up with the huge amount of testing and learning that’s needed. It is – almost literally – a full-time job to keep up.

Even professionals have the same time constraints. Doctors have medical digests that bring them up to speed on new treatments and medications. Lawyers have to keep up with new laws. They all rely on others to do the hard work of research for them.

Most people just want to answer “what works now?”

Very few people really want to have to discover it for themselves. Life’s a bit too short for that. It’s why we have teachers who condense years of learning into weekly 1 or 2 hour lessons for us.

So let’s go back to the shark. Let’s just talk about the ones that do have to keep moving. If they stop moving, they will suffer harm. If an internet marketer stops learning and adapting, they will lose money and revenue share. Nothing is static, remember.

I can honestly say I have only ever come across one person who tests as much as I do. I know that most people just don’t test, or don’t test anywhere near enough.

But if you don’t have a source of condensed information that gives you the results of testing, *you will lose out*.

You should expect to have to update your methods and techniques on a regular basis. Time spent researching will reward you. Research is reward.

Yes, it’s that simple.

In my own case I can tell you point blank that my extensive testing has earned me millions and millions of dollars.

I no longer test things alone. I have a senior team who test with me. Some of the results we find surprise even us, with a combined internet marketing experience of about 35 years!

Testing and research can uncover those nuggets that are easier to dig out. It can be the difference between working smarter and working harder.

Whatever you do, build in chunks of time to your day, so you can update your knowledge on a regular basis. It will pay big dividends over the years, I promise you.

Our coaching members get the benefits of our ongoing extensive testing. We know from the feedback we get that it has made money for those who use that knowledge.

It’s very easy to be persuaded that a brand new shiny object will do everything for you. But even the finest tool in the toolbox has to be used the right way. It has to be maintained, sharpened, lubricated and updated to keep working optimally. And when a new, better tool is released the smart workers move to it.

It’s happened before throughout history and it will continue to happen. Change is constant.

The question is, are you doing enough to keep your knowledge up to date? Are you using the best techniques to minimize your work and maximize your revenue?